Cowboys Sharpen Game Plan/Trace Ford Poised and Ready to Continue Where He Left Off
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State was back at it on Sunday afternoon as the polishing is taking place. This was the first of two practices that will mimic Wednesdays on a normal game week. Head coach Mike Gundy said they will go through the practice in helmets, shoulder pads, and shorts again on Monday. Tuesday will be the normal Thursday run through and then the day before the game they will do a call out and walk through. Honestly, there are a few players with bumps and bruises. Cowboy back Blaine Green is out for a while and linebacker Jeff Roberson will miss the season with a foot injury, but the Cowboys head into the first game in pretty good shape from that standpoint. In fact, it feels like a bonus. With All-Big 12 “Leo” defensive end Brock Martin back for a super senior campaign and freshman All-American and Big 12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year Collin Oliver at that position as well, to have Trace Ford back off back-to-back ACL knee injuries and playing at full speed is almost an embarrassment of riches.
"It just feels good. It's a blessing,” Ford said from his viewpoint. “I'm just happy to be able to play again and my career is not over yet, so it's a great feeling just to be out there and make a few plays."
"He’s doing good. He’s in great shape,” head coach Mike Gundy said of the now red-shirt junior from Edmond Santa Fe. “I’ve said this a number of times — when you have an injury like he had it kind of messes with you a little bit. Then when you have two of them, I would think it would really mess with you mentally. So, you have to push through some mental strain and some stress. I think he’s finally getting there. My personal opinion is once the game starts, the action’s going, the juices are flowing, the crowds into it, I think he’s gonna go out there and play hard."
That’s something that Ford has always done since he arrived and earned major playing time as a true freshman. Ford was the perfect explosive kind of athlete, just like the centerfielder that he played for the Wolves in baseball, a home run hitter that could run down fly balls and steal bases on the basepaths. His freshman season in 2019 he finished with 29 tackles, 4.0 tackles-for-loss, and 3.0 sacks. His best game came in Bedlam with OU. The next season he was having a strong game at Baylor when he suffered his first knee injury.
Then last season just two days before opening the season and feeling great Ford was loosening up and in a non-contact situation tore the other knee. Like Gundy said, it has to work on your mind. You have to be tough mentally to overcome.
“At first getting out here I was nervous getting a feel for the game, but that scrimmage last week cleared every (negative) thought I had,” Ford said. “I’m back out here playing with full confidence. I’ve got my swagger. It was hard, but I’ve got it back.”
Gundy and the defensive staff helped by monitoring Ford’s reps and bringing him back in a very deliberate pace. Ford seemed to relish each step and by all accounts other than his own had a standout camp.
“I’m hard on myself, so I think I could have done better,” Ford said of his fall camp. “I do think I had a good camp coming back and getting in the flow of things.”
Ford is excited. He is back with a lot of guys he has played a lot of football with like Martin, Tyler Lacy, Brendon Evers, Sione Asi, and some new guys like his fellow Santa Fe High School alum in Oliver. He also knows that there is plenty of versatility on this defensive line.
“Yes, the tackles know what to do at end, the ends know what to do at tackle, even the Leos know what to do at defensive end,” explained Ford and then answered my question on whether he would move inside to a three technique. “I did it in high school. I’d put my hand down there and get crazy.”
A lot of us will be crazy on Thursday just with the thrill of seeing No. 94 back out there. It has been too long.